To be honest, I considered skipping June’s challenge altogether. I mean, you would’ve understood, right? I’m a busy mom of two! Who moved! And traveled! And generally read any and every book not on her Reading Challenge list!
Sigh. Then I felt guilty. I mean, I am the one bringing this upon myself. Expand my horizons. Challenge myself. Yada, yada, yada.
And so, I checked my Reading Challenge list:
June – “A book that was originally written in a different language.”
Ah. I don’t seem to have many of those lying around. Well, except for my husband’s untranslated Latin and Greek books. He even owns Cattus Petasatus (that’s The Cat in the Hat translated into Latin for those uneducated types out there). I even considered copping out and using a book of the Bible as a translated text. Hey! It would count!
So, I did what we all do when we don’t know something. I Googled “books originally written in a different language,” and, lo and behold, Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove rose to the top. It is the crème de la crème, after all.
Unfortunately, I’ve already read that wonderful story. And I’d told you about it, so I couldn’t exactly fake it. This is what I get for being transparent.
Fortunately, Mr. Backman has written plenty of books in his native Swedish, which have been translated into the clunkier English language. He’s even written a few published novellas, which are perfect for a reading challenge that starts mid-month.
I’ve chosen And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, a novella by Fredrik Backman. Here’s the book jacket:
“Fredrik Backman has rendered an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold onto his most precious memories and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.”
Eesh. I feel the tears pooling already.
I also put a few more translated books on hold at the library, so if I get through a few more, I’ll include them in my review as well. Stay tuned!
Read any good books lately? I’d love recommendations!
Did you personally come up with the themes for this monthly reading challenge? I really like them. In fact, I may have to borrow the idea. 🙂 Have you read Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose”? That’s one of my favorites. (Incidentally, so is “Cattus Petasatus”!)
Hi! I 100% stole the idea from Modern Mrs. Darcy (should I admit that?). I’m fairly certain I rearranged or modified some of the topics to better fit my interests, but I first saw the idea on her page. Here’s her current challenge: https://modernmrsdarcy.com/reading-challenge-2018/
And, no! I’ll add The Name of the Rose to my to-be-read list (it’s a never-ending cycle of books!). Thanks for the recommendation!
I was thinking on what to read for this challenge, and then my daughter brought my a random library book she had pulled off the shelf. On the cover it had a credit for Translated By somebody, so that must have been in another language originally. I’m guessing French based on the author’s name. I read her the book. That takes care of this month, right?
Yes, girl! Low-hanging fruit for mid-summer. 😉